LEASH

Decorated swivel, thought to be part of an elaborate dog's lead or similar. Made from copper alloy, it has an openwork flattened-sphere centre (23 x 32 mm) and a separate swivelling pierced element at either flattened end which would originally have held a suspension ring.

The central 'sphere' is made up of four openwork circles, each enclosing a four-leafed plant. One of the leaves is always very small, and they all end in scrolly curls. Each one has an engraved midrib. Obliquely set across the base of the plant are two further grooves, with ribbing at right angles below. The circles around the plants are decorated alternately on their top and bottom halves with transverse ribbing; the other halves of the circles have a row of short longitudinal grooves rather carelessly applied. The junction between each of the circles is also covered with this transverse ribbing. The spaces at the flattened top and bottom are filled with more solid circles, pierced in the centre to allow the attachment of the shanks of the swivelling elements. Around the perforations, these solid circles are decorated with radiating lines (applied more carefully at one end than at the other). The swivelling elements have short circular-section shanks ending inside the 'sphere' in neatly made round heads with a circumferential groove and a possible cross engraved across the end. Their heads are facetted (tall cuboids with the corners cut off). Two opposing lozengiform faces are decorated with a sunken panel in which is a counter-relief cross; the other two faces on each swivelling element are occupied by the ends of the narrow perforations.

This swivel is extremely similar to one excavated at Dragon's Hall, King Street, Norwich. They have both been examined by John Cherry of the British Museum, who comments that they are related, in terms of their openwork copper-alloy casting, to circular openwork staff heads dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. Their function is uncertain; it has been suggested that they are components of dogs' leads, and lapdogs were certainly popular high-status companions at the time (partly due to the fact that they kept you warm while inactive). But swivels could have a number of other uses too. The complicated casting that these would have needed, combined with the use of a complicated art style for the decoration, shows that they are high-status objects.

This object has been published in Bailey (2002, 72, fig. 8)